Amateur husky racers brave -24C in Arctic wilderness

(Reuters) - Amateur dog-sled racers pushed themselves to the limits to complete a 300 km journey in temperatures as low as -24 degrees Celsius in the Arctic wilderness.

Some 30 competitors led more than 200 Alaskan and Siberian Huskies between Signaldalen in Norway and Jukkasjarvi in Sweden in just five days for the Fjallraven Polar 2017 race organized by a Swedish outdoor clothing and equipment company.

The participants, hailing from 12 different countries, slept in the open, braving the occasional snow storm. They also were accompanied by the magical Northern Lights filling the sky.

"This is probably (in my) top three. Getting married and my kids are obviously first and second, but this is an experience I will never forget," American Walter Herrmann, a furniture industry executive more used to the warmer temperatures of his native Louisiana, said in a video news release.